Battery Questions

[terifi 10+ year member]

What is the deal, i was thinking about just getting a cap, but apparently its looking like a battery is better, but as cheap as people say the battery way is, i would think its really not, well for a good system. i was looking at the "recommended" yellow tops, and cardomain.com also has other brands, but almost all are close to 100 or even alot more. plus u cant just have a battery can you, u need other stuff, b/c it wont just replenish itself?

if i got a battery i would need other stuff too, right? and do you think then that a place like Bestbuy would still install it?

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[MikeofTulsa Moderator]

save your money and either get your alt rewound or upgraded....

 

[terifi 10+ year member]

what if im gonna have the car turned off?

 

[80_Cutlass_mn 10+ year member]

If your gonna run your system with your car engine off then your best bet would be to go ahead and somehow wire two batteries in parallel or get a large marine storage battery to run everything. If your system is very large then you might also wanna have your alternator rewound or get a bigger one like Goddy said. I myself am thinkin of goin the marine storage battery for everything.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[violator5spd 10+ year member]

Originally posted by 80_Cutlass_mn If your gonna run your system with your car engine off then your best bet would be to go ahead and somehow wire two batteries in parallel or get a large marine storage battery to run everything. If your system is very large then you might also wanna have your alternator rewound or get a bigger one like Goddy said. I myself am thinkin of goin the marine storage battery for everything.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

What's this marine storage battery you speak of? Show me at once!...please //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[80_Cutlass_mn 10+ year member]

Id you wanna see one then go to a place where they sell boats and such. All they are is very large 12 volt batteries that can hold a **** load of power and can be drained lower than a regular car battery without hurting the overall performance. The only bad thing is that they dont put out as many cranking amps as a regular car battery would so it may not spin your motor over as fast when you go to start your car/truck but that can be alleviated by buying two and somehow making a place for the other one and parallel wiring them. Plus if you parallel them then your looking at really large time span that you can run your system with your car off. The only 3 bad things about them is that 1) they are large, about 1.5-2 times bigger than normal car batteries, depending on the capacity. 2) They dont put out as many cranking amps as a normal car battery so you may have trouble starting your car if the engine is large or modified for more compression etc. 3) Cost, they arent the cheapest things in the world either. Im not sure how much they are but im sure they will run you about 150 and up again depending on the capacity. There you go, thats the lowdown on the marine storage batteries I was talking about.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[terifi 10+ year member]

About other things needed for a battery,

what are isolators and regulators, how do you use them, and why would you need them?

 

[80_Cutlass_mn 10+ year member]

Now that is a totally different story and it is one that I cant tell youl have to ask someine who is experienced in the multiple battery installations.

 

[terifi 10+ year member]

well as far as multiple, i mean 1 extra, 1 ontop of what i have now, 2 ttl batteries, 1 under the hood, 1 in the trunk, im askin do i need these things for that, im just wondering, if you parallel two batteries, it can eventually drain both of them when the car is off, am i right?

i just wanna know the way to hook it up, so if i do have the car off, and the battery dies, its not gonna mean my stater battery is also dead, i would just want the extra stereo batt drained, and then have it recharge while i am drivin

 

[80_Cutlass_mn 10+ year member]

Yes it will but I think that is what an isolator does. it allows the alternator to charge the second battery but it will keep what ever is running off the secong battery from taking current from the one under the hood so that you will have one battery that will run the system when the car is off and one that will start the car. The isolator keeps the battery under the hood from being drained by the system when the car is off.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/wink.gif.608e3ea05f1a9f98611af0861652f8fb.gif

 

[terifi 10+ year member]

well instead of getting an isolator, couldnt you just run wires from your alternator, seperatly, to each battery, then the batteries would not be connected, but would both get charged when my car is running?

or is this what an isolator does, and im just stupid?

LOL

(although 70 bucks does seem like alot of money for technically a "splitter")

 

[80_Cutlass_mn 10+ year member]

Umm let me think, nope if you connect both batteries to the alt then they will both be drained because they will still be connectd at the alt. so sorry

 

[violator5spd 10+ year member]

Originally posted by 80_Cutlass_mn Id you wanna see one then go to a place where they sell boats and such. All they are is very large 12 volt batteries that can hold a **** load of power and can be drained lower than a regular car battery without hurting the overall performance. The only bad thing is that they dont put out as many cranking amps as a regular car battery would so it may not spin your motor over as fast when you go to start your car/truck but that can be alleviated by buying two and somehow making a place for the other one and parallel wiring them. Plus if you parallel them then your looking at really large time span that you can run your system with your car off. The only 3 bad things about them is that 1) they are large, about 1.5-2 times bigger than normal car batteries, depending on the capacity. 2) They dont put out as many cranking amps as a normal car battery so you may have trouble starting your car if the engine is large or modified for more compression etc. 3) Cost, they arent the cheapest things in the world either. Im not sure how much they are but im sure they will run you about 150 and up again depending on the capacity. There you go, thats the lowdown on the marine storage batteries I was talking about.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Well, thank you very much //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[80_Cutlass_mn 10+ year member]

Originally posted by violator5spd Well, thank you very much //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Well your welcome and about the Lady Need Help thread, your opinions are important

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

plus, adding another battery will just strain the electrical system in your car even more when it is on. ONE alternator will have to power: Your audio system, your basic electrical(lights, etc.), and 2 batteries. ALl the extra battery does is add extra time to play while car is off, but it adds strain to ur alternator. U'd have to have one **** good STOCK alternator two handle all that. SO, basically....it ain't going to happen with a stock alternator. To solve ur problem a) (the costly way) get a new/rewound alternator and then add a second battery to improve the time allowed to play with ur car off or b) get a new larger capacity battery (or keep existing battery depending on how bad it is) and listen to music with car off for about 15-30mins and restart car for about 5mins each time. I don't know why, but i must have a **** good battery....b/c i listen to my system a lot with the car off(even for 30mins or longer) and it still starts and it isn't even low. BUT, u would be investing A LOT of money with option (a), and unless ur competion grade...u don't need it.

NG

 

[80_Cutlass_mn 10+ year member]

He also has a point, the stock alternator will have to charge the two batteries and the rest. I didnt think of that DAM*IT!!!!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/banghead.gif.8606515f668c74f6de0281deb475b6fd.gif :banghead: //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/banghead.gif.8606515f668c74f6de0281deb475b6fd.gif . Well it looks like you could a) either get 1 marine storage battery or b) run system start car stop car listen to system.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/rolleyes.gif.c1fef805e9d1464d377451cd5bc18bfb.gif . Right now I do B myself but I want to extend the time that I have between engine starts so I think im gonna go with the 1 marine storage battery.//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[terifi 10+ year member]

hah hah, ok thanks ngsm13, and everybody else for the advice, ill now, probably end up getting my alternator rewound anyway, and then maybe a 1 farad cap

 

[CarAudioAddict 10+ year member]

Don't get a cap.

Caps are another load for your alt to maintain.

If you are looking for engne-off listening time, get a second battery and an upgraded alt to recharge it.

 

[ngsm13 5,000+ posts]

Originally posted by CarAudioAddict Don't get a cap.

 

Caps are another load for your alt to maintain.

 

If you are looking for engne-off listening time, get a second battery and an upgraded alt to recharge it.

yup, caps are a waste of $.....better off taking it and investing it in the option (A)

NG